Key takeaways
- OFAC removed National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez from its sanctions list on October 14, 2026, giving no public reason.
- An unnamed source told Al Jazeera the delisting is part of Washington's wider recognition of the interim government and of Trump's plan for Venezuela's stabilisation and transition, which the source described as having three phases.
- The delisting unblocks his US assets and allows US persons to deal with him, but grants no visa.
- Opposition leader Henrique Capriles called it an incentive for government negotiators, while no election date has been set.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The notice is titled "Venezuela-related Designation Removal". It states: "The following deletions have been made to OFAC's SDN List". The entry lists his name and four additional variants. OFAC published no rationale, according to El País, Efecto Cocuyo and El Nacional. A source familiar with the matter told Al Jazeera the move is part of Washington's wider diplomatic recognition of the interim Venezuelan government.
Rodríguez is the brother of Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez. Reuters reported that the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The same day, a third round of US-backed negotiations opened in Caracas. Rodríguez leads the government side. Dinorah Figuera leads an opposition delegation drawn from the 2015 National Assembly.
What the record supports
Because Treasury gave no reason, any explanation rests on circumstantial evidence or on attributed commentary. One source familiar with the matter told Al Jazeera that the delisting is part of Washington's broader diplomatic recognition of the interim Venezuelan government and of President Donald Trump's plan for Venezuela's stabilisation and political transition, which the source described as having three phases. The source was not named, and the US government has not confirmed this account.
The context points the same way. Rodríguez has used his control of the single-chamber National Assembly to push reforms opening Venezuela's oil, mining and power sectors to foreign and private investment. These include changes to hydrocarbons legislation. Washington and Caracas have also brokered an agreement giving the United States access to 17 Venezuelan oil fields. In August 2026, Trump announced an initiative to secure direct access to Venezuelan crude to replenish the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Earlier Crisis.Zone reporting on the post-Maduro oil access agreements sets out those arrangements.
These are background facts, not stated US reasons. The sequence suggests that Rodríguez's legislative and negotiating roles matter to US energy and diplomatic aims. US officials did not immediately provide a reason for the delisting, according to AFP, and none has linked it on the record to those roles.
Observers are reading: the legal limits of the delisting, and how it fits the sanctions sequence that began with Delcy Rodríguez in April.
Become an Observer, it's free. Get full access to all Crisis.Zone analysis, briefings and breaking coverage.
Reaction and assessment
At a press conference on October 15, opposition leader Henrique Capriles called the delisting an "incentive" from Washington to the government's negotiators. He warned against whitewashing the authorities: "They want to sell themselves as new, but they are not; they are members of the same repressive apparatus." He also criticised what he called an "excess of recognition" for Delcy Rodríguez. He accused the interim government of aiming to stay in power until 2030 and criticised its announcements of large contract signings.
Rubio has framed US policy around progress on political freedoms and electoral reform, alongside transactional engagement. As of October 14, Treasury had given no reason for the delisting, and Venezuela's communications ministry had not immediately responded to a request for comment. The evidence supports a narrow assessment. The removal fits a sequence of US steps that favour access and engagement over fixed democratic milestones, and no election date has been set. Whether that approach yields a credible electoral timetable will depend on the talks that opened the same day.
Become an Observer (it's free) to unlock direct links to all sources used in this article.
We believe you deserve to verify everything we write. That's why we meticulously document every source.
